The Windows 10 January Technical Preview (Build 9926) is finally here after what seemed like ages since Build 9879 was released back in November. Microsoft has included many of the new features announced at its Windows 10 event a few days ago like Cortana and Continuum, but the company is also taking pride in the improvements made as a result of user feedback from the Insider program.
Here are some of those user-requested improvements:
- You’ve asked us to support more languages so we’re bringing you more languages: Japanese, Russian, German, French, French (Canada), Korean, Italian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Traditional Chinese, Swedish, Finnish, Turkish, Arabic, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Thai, Vietnamese (Language Interface Pack), Catalan (Language Interface Pack), and Hindi (Language Interface Pack).
- The new Windows Update UX in the Settings app provides a progress bar for preview build downloads which was a top request for Insiders. When you navigate away after starting the download/install, it will know that the download and install is still in progress when you return (instead of looking like a blank slate. And progress is now determinate, instead of just a spinning circle.
- We received feedback that ALT+TAB was too jarring (everything on screen changed) and that some people found it confusingly similar to Task View. Some people wondered why Virtual Desktops were not accessible from ALT+TAB. So, we merged the previous ALT+TAB design with the Task View to produce an approach that retained the large thumbnails that people like, but with an overlay that is familiar. Now, it feels far less jarring and while it looks like it belongs to the family of Task View and Snap Assist, it retains its unique strength of being a great keyboard switcher. Finally, this change makes the work we’ve done with precision touchpads feel better too. Now when you quickly three finger swipe left/right, ALT+TAB feels lighter-weight.
- We also heard that folks wanted Persian calendars support and you’ll find that in this build. The Persian calendar format will appear on your Lock screen, your taskbar clock, and on timestamps on files in File Explorer.
- Another top request from you was to have the option to pick the default folder when opening File Explorer, and the team responded and added this feature.
- We saw feedback from Insiders that it was hard to find how to make apps full-screen in the “hamburger-style” menu seen in previous builds so we’ve added a full-screen button in the title bar. We’ve also made the title bars for both desktop and modern apps title bars feel more harmonious.
- Finally, I know that a TON of Insiders were unhappy about the bug where keyboard lights weren’t working when Caps lock/Num lock/Scroll lock is toggled. I’m super happy to report that we’ve fixed that issue in this build. Thank you for being patient with us on that one.
To silence the doubters, yes, Microsoft is listening. And the improvements above are just some of the larger ones worth mentioning, not including bug fixes and behind-the-scenes changes made as a result of feedback. So keep submitting your ideas on new features and improvements to existing ones, rest assured that the software giant has its ears open.
